Trump says ‘we don’t have to be there for NATO’
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European allies were not consulted by the US on its decision to attack Iran late in February, and many leaders in the alliance opposed the action.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MIAMI – US President Donald Trump said on March 27 the US does not “have to be there for NATO”, comments that again raised questions about his commitment to the mutual defence provisions at the centre of the transatlantic alliance.
Speaking at an investment forum in Miami on the night of March 27, Mr Trump said he was upset that European NATO countries had declined to provide material support to the US as it nears the fifth week of its ongoing war on Iran.
European allies were not consulted by the US on its decision to attack Iran late in February, and many leaders in the alliance opposed the action.
“We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” Mr Trump told the audience.
“That sounds like a breaking story? Yes, sir. Is that breaking news? I think we just have breaking news, but that’s the fact. I’ve been saying that. Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us.”
The President has had a famously on-again-off-again relationship with the alliance, and he has at various points made comments that provoked questions about his willingness to adhere to NATO’s Article 5, which states an attack against one member state is an attack on all.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Mr Trump famously encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack European NATO countries that did not pay their fair share on defence.
His relationship with several European leaders, however, appeared to improve over the course of 2025. But Washington-Brussels relations again soured in 2026 after Mr Trump ramped up his threats to invade Greenland, which is an overseas territory of Denmark. REUTERS
